FOPPI

Monarch Butterfly on Plum Island milkweed, 2025 season During the Festival of Nature a couple of weeks ago, we were greeted by two happy Monarch butterflies. They danced in the breeze and circled our group with happiness ... they made it from their winter roost in Mexico's fir forests. The Monarch butterfly is the only insect that migrates like birds do. Earlier this year they, or their great-great-grandparents, great-grandparents or grandparents, were awakened with a need to begin their...

Prepping Forest School students at Gills Rock dock. Queueing to clean shoes at the boot brush on Plum Island. Photo by Jude Kuenn The Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands and the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge team are excited to announce a partnership with the Ridges Sanctuary and their Forest School! The Forest School is designed for homeschool students, ages 5-8 who enjoy outdoor, hands-on learning. During this program students hike through and learn from diverse ecosystems, journal, and...

Plum Island Trillium Plum Island once again hosted field trips for the Ridges Sanctuary 24th Annual Festival of Nature. This year we added two new programs to their event: 'Bat Heroes' and 'Small Wings, Big Impact'. We continued our well-attended 'Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge Exploration' program where guests learned about the work that we are doing on Plum and Pilot Islands. The 'Bat Heroes' program focused on the Little Brown Bats who reside in one of our historic buildings. These...